


I hear the call (of your siren)

by ATiredNarwhal



Series: Emergency Response AU [4]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Bad Flirting, I Don't Know Anymore, Kisses, M/M, ended up being, it's brief, some homophobic vibes, stupid boys in love, they just don't know it yet, was suppose to be a 5+1, whatever this is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-31
Updated: 2019-01-31
Packaged: 2019-10-19 20:09:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17608100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ATiredNarwhal/pseuds/ATiredNarwhal
Summary: This started as a "5 times Billy and Steve meet accidentally, and the one time they don't" but turned into, "How the boys met and started falling for each other, in pieces"





	I hear the call (of your siren)

**Author's Note:**

> Summary and tags kind of say it all.  
> Whatever this is...
> 
> Please Enjoy

The first time they meet, a building is burning. The structure fire is too far gone and the firefighters are working their best to contain the damage, but everyone’s out, everyone’s safe. Steve is with his Chief, asking about what people saw, what they remember, when they noticed the building was on fire, things like that. Steve hears a commotion from the firefighters and looks over. There’s a man, striping off his jacket to reveal a sweat-stained white t-shirt, his hair is sticking up and shiny with sweat. He wipes at his face and leaves soot behind. There are calls from the other firefighters, hassling him about being the first into the building to get people out, how he’s the new guy and isn’t he just trying to show them all up. He laughs it off with a huff and turns to make eye contact with Steve. They stare at each other for what feels like forever, before he winks and grins, and suddenly Steve is very busy with his notepad and he needs to be _over there_ somewhere. He can hear the guy whistle at him. What an ass.

_

The second time they meet, it’s a tense situation. The car in front of them is a wreck, and there’s a man trapped inside. Steve is securing the area and fielding traffic, but he’s always got one eye on the situation. That firefighter who whistled at him, he’s coming in with the jaws of life, working on prying the car open enough to get to the survivor of the accident, he’s got paramedics on the sidelines waiting to get to the trapped man, they already have two body bags. Steve can’t help but watch the firefighter’s face as he tries to free a human being from the tangled, twisted metal. His face is set in hard lines, so focused and intent on his job. To save a human life. Steve’s eyes track a rivet of sweat running down his temple for a moment. Then he’s back in his head, focusing on his own job. After it’s all said and done and the paramedics are speeding off, Steve wants to tell the man that he did a good job today, but the firetruck is already pulling away and he’s gone.

_

The third time they meet, Steve feels like an idiot. There’s a kid stuck up a tree, a kid that Steve knows, and he’s being as embarrassing at possible.

“Dustin, just come down.”

“Steve. Officer. I cannot.”

“You climbed up, now you just have to climb down.”

“It’s called a fear of heights, Steve. I can’t.”

“Then why did you climb up in the first place,” Steve mumbles to himself. Suddenly there’s a firetruck rounding the street corner, “Oh geez, you guys called the fire department?”

“What else were we supposed to do?” One of the other kids ask.

Steve’s not willing to admit they have a point, but all his dignity goes out the window when the whistling firefighter gets out of the truck.

“Dustin I’m begging you, please come down, now.”

“Officer, I have told you, I can’t. I would if I could, but I can’t.”

“Wow, you got here fast. Were you in the neighborhood or something?” Whistling firefighter comments.

“Or something…” Steve mutters back.

“Got a call there was a kid stuck up a tree.”

“Yeah, that’s him.”

“That’s a teenager.”

“I know,” Steve sucks his teeth.

“I’m Billy, by the way,” Billy sticks out his hand.

“Steve,” he takes that hand, and finds it warm and calloused.

“Firefighter, sir. Can you please get me down?”

“Yeah, yeah kid, I’ll get you down,” He turns to Steve, “Let me go get the ladder, try to keep him from falling out of the tree.”

“Steve!” Dustin shouts as Billy walks back to the truck, “What did he say?”

“He said not to fall out of the tree, you dumbass.”

“Oh,” Dustin grabs on to the truck of the tree a little tighter.

Billy comes back with the ladder, “you know this kid?”

“Let’s just say I used to babysit him,” Steve sighs.

Billy climbs the ladder quickly, gets to Dustin, with little fanfare slings him over his shoulder, then descends. When Dustin’s feet hit the ground, he falls to his knees to kiss it.

“Oh my god, stop being an idiot,” Steve kicks him lightly with his foot. He turns to Billy, “Thanks for getting him out of there.”

“No problem. You ever need to get rescued, you can call on me,” Billy winks and jogs back to the firetruck.

Well, at least Steve knows his name now.

_

The fourth time they meet, it’s Billy who’s embarrassed. But hell if he’ll admit to it. He had been speeding along, drumming the steering wheel to a damn good song, when a cop’s cruiser pulls out behind him. Cursing, and knowing he was speeding, Billy eyes the cruiser and waits for the lights to come on. When they do, he slows to a stop, pulling off the road. He’s sitting with both his hands on the steering wheel, used to this song and dance, when he hears a curse and looks at the cop from his sidemirror, who has just spun around, and thrown his hands up. All procedure forgotten, Billy smiles like a cat with cream and leans out of his open window.

“Officer Steve, is that you?”

Steve walks the remaining distance and sighs, “Billy.”

Oh, it is Billy’s lucky day. He reads the name _Harrington_ on Steve’s name tag.

“Didn’t see you there, Officer Steve, that’s some trap you got.”

“Billy, license and registration, please.”

Billy gets all his ducks in order and hands them over to Steve.

“Mr. Hargrove, do you know how fast you were going?”

Oh, using his ID to get his last name, smooth. But Billy believes he’s smoother.

“Obviously a little too fast, but how _have_ you been Officer Steve?”

“Mr. Hargrove, you were going _20_ over the speed limit.”

“Not my best personal record,” Billy grins sharply.

“You _know_ I’m going to have to give you a ticket, right?”

“Of course, Officer Steve,” Billy doesn’t even try to straighten out his face to look serious.

Steve sighs, “stop calling me that.”

“Calling you what, Officer Steve?”

“That. Stop calling me Officer Steve.”

“Well then what should I call you?”

“My name’s Harrington, call me Officer Harrington.”

“You sure? Because, I was thinking of calling you ‘Baby,’” Billy can’t help himself, his tongue pokes out and does a little wag.

Steve goes beet red, hands Billy a speeding ticket and his identification back, and then walks away without a word. Billy’s still cackling when Steve pulls off and drives away.

_

The fifth time they meet, it’s at a bar, and it’s not entirely pleasant. Steve is having a beer after shift with some of the rookies at the local cop haunt, a bar called Willy’s. He’s actually working on his second pint, when a rowdy group comes in. It’s a gang of firefighters, and Steve recognizes Billy. Their entrance ruffled some feathers, but when the most vetted police officer currently in the joint dismisses them, everyone else settles down, besides, the firefighters aren’t being rude, just rambunctious. They call for shots, which isn’t really the kind of place Willy’s is, but the bartender pulls out a bottle of whiskey and pours four shots.

Billy takes his down with a hoot. He’s had four straight days of 12 hour shifts and he’s ready for his down time. The four of them had been working as crew and now they just needed something to take the edge off. He basically just sleeps at the firehouse anyway, only going back to his cramped apartment on his days off to sleep and recharge. They get another round of shots. Billy sees Steve across the room and grins.

As the night wears on, Billy gets his coworkers drunker and drunker, and Steve has stayed, nursing his fourth beer, to watch Billy. Though he’ll never say so out loud. Pretty soon, Billy is calling the fire chief to come pick up the boys, and when he does, Billy waves them off, claiming to have another ride waiting. In reality, he goes back inside, orders himself another shot, which the bartender eyes him over, but Billy’s never had a problem holding his alcohol, so he takes it and slides in across the table from Steve that he’s been sitting at all night.

“Good evening, Officer Harrington,” Billy sips his whiskey neat.

Steve rests his chin in his hand, and looks at Billy, looks _through_ Billy. Now, that just won’t do.

“Have you had a good time tonight?” Steve asks him.

“Having the best time of my life, right now,” Billy gives Steve a winning smile.

Steve snorts, takes a sip of his beer, “you better watch it, or else I’ll think you’re serious.”

“What, do I look gay to you?”

Steve gives him a long, unreadable stare. He takes another sip of his beer. Billy downs the rest of his shot and smacks it down on the table. Shoves the table towards Steve.

“I _said_ , do I look _gay_ to you.”

“Hey,” Steve lets the wood top press against him, settling his glass, “Stop, what’s your problem.”

“My problem is _you_. Always staring at me when you think I’m not looking.”

Steve blushes a bit, but counters, “You’re the one who whistled at me.”

“I have never done that.”

“Yes, you did! It was like, the first time we ever saw each other!”

“Well _I_ don’t remember this,” Billy did, in fact, clearly remember this, but was not going to tell Steve that. Not when he was having so much fun, “And what are you? Keep track of the first time we _saw each other_? _What_?”

“That…that was just a casual observation!”

Billy shoves away from the table and stands, “And you’re just avoiding the question!”

Billy’s shove sent the remainder of Steve’s drink into his lap, and has Steve shoving to his feet as well.

“What the fuck, man!”

“Hey!”

They both turn to the bartender.

“Steve, if you have a problem with this guy, take it outside. I don’t want that shit in here.”

Steve groans, but grabs Billy by the shoulder and hauls him out a side door. They’re in an alleyway, and Steve shoves Billy against the stone wall.

“Look, I don’t go around telling other people what I think they’re sexuality should be. _I_ wouldn’t want people to do that to me, and man, I don’t _care_ if your gay or not, just like, _chill_!”

Billy goes to push off the wall, but Steve shoves him back against it. Billy stands there and stares at Steve, chewing his bottom lip, think about Steve’s words.

“…You don’t care if I’m gay.”

“ _Yes_ , that’s what I said!”

Some more chewing of the lip.

“I am, though.”

“What?” Steve turns partially away from him, hands on his hips, side-eyeing Billy.

“I am. I’m gay.”

“You…you…All that and you just come out and say it?”

“Well, I was flirting with you, I thought you got that.”

Steve’s mouth opens like a hooked fish, “You call this _flirting_?” and jesters to his beer-soaked pants.

“Got me alone with you, didn’t it?”

Steve just stares at him, really stares at him. Just the way Billy wanted.

“But apparently, you don’t _care_ if I am, gay, that is. But I already wrote down my number on this napkin, so you can have it, you can call me if you’re into guys too,” Billy tucks the napkin into the front pocket of Steve’s shirt and then turns and walks away, smiling to himself. Leaving Steve standing in an alley with cold, wet pants.

_

The sixth time they meet, Steve is nervous. He brought flowers, what a stupid move, he should just chuck them into the bushes outside the apartment building. What was he even thinking, this guy has been such an asshole! But then, why was he going into the building? Things had been so much easier with Nancy and Jonathan. They had just kind of, fallen into place, wooing Nancy with Jonathan following behind. Steve was a master at wooing women, but he’d never tried to woo a man before. Especially not a ripped, gorgeous, sexy fireman. Steve was confident in his sexuality, he didn’t need to really date guys to know he was bisexual. But, oh man, he was going on a date with Billy.

They had talked briefly over the phone to set up the date and then hadn’t really spoken or seen each other. Steve was wearing a buttoned-down shirt. Nancy had picked it out for him. He climbed the stairs and knocked on Billy’s apartment door. Billy answers, also in a buttoned-down shirt, though the top two are popped open, and gives Steve a grin before his eyes fall to the flowers. Billy’s eyes light up.

“Well, aren’t you a sweetheart…”

Steve blushes and mutters something like ‘shut up’ and then suddenly Steve is pulled into Billy’s apartment. It’s a studio, and a little messy, but functional. Billy pulls a vase from somewhere and puts the flowers in it. When he turns and grins at Steve, Steve feels like Billy’s laughing at him.

“Let’s go.”

They head to the movie theater, getting tickets and popcorn to share. The whole time their too busy sneaking glances at each other to really any attention to the movie. Somehow afterwards, they end up on the far side of the building, in the shadows away from prying eyes. Billy tugging at Steve’s wrist until he has him flush up against the brick wall, leaning in to steal that first kiss. But Steve’s not nervous about this, and flips them easily, much to Billy’s pleasure, and it’s Steve who catches Billy’s lips first. It’s a playful hello, and simply pushing of sensitive flesh against flesh. The gentle swipe of tongue is accepted readily. Billy tries to pick up the pace, but Steve reaches up to grab his jaw, wanting to take his time, savor the new tastes and feelings of Billy’s mouth. When Billy gets impatient and his hands start to wander, Steve uses all his strength to hoist Billy up, so Billy has to wrap his legs around his waist and grab on to Steve’s neck. Even though Steve’s using the wall to leverage most of Billy’s weight, Billy is beyond pleased at the show of strength. He shows this by licking his way into Steve’s mouth and sliding his tongue against the other man’s, they kiss until their lips are raw from rubbed stubble and love bites.

Billy eagerly brings them back to his apartment, ready to stripe this police officer down and see what he’s _really_ made of. At the door, before Billy can pull out his keys, Steve shoves him against the wall again and their mouths fuse again, Steve running his hands just under Billy’s untucked shirt. It’s all soft skin and hard muscle. Steve bets Billy is going to look amazing naked. He breaks away, while still stroking that soft skin.

“This was nice,” Steve leans in and nips at Billy’s neck, “but I got to go. See ya.”

Steve’s painfully hard as he walks away, but the look on Billy’s face was priceless.

**Author's Note:**

> What was this?   
> You tell me.


End file.
